Close Encounters of the Strange Kind
by IdiotWithaBoxandaScrewdriver
Summary: A possible Tai Lung sighting, a slightly crazy snow leopard with an oversized reptile. A Dragon Warrior can't get a break, can he?


So a little fic that wound up in my head, not something usual for me, so I don't think I'll be doing anything more with the character. Originally up on furaffinity. Dreamworks owns HTTYD and Kung Fu Panda, I own the rest.

Peace reigned once more in the Valley of Peace. The villagers had finished making the necessary repairs after Tai Lung and the Dragon Warrior had fought and life was returning back to normal. High above the village the Jade Palace stood guard, with the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior as ever-watchful sentinels. Well, mostly watchful, anyways.

"Hey, Po!" Monkey called, lobbing a dumpling into the air. The chubby panda by the name of Po, or sometimes 'the Dragon Warrior', leapt up into the air and caught the dumpling in his mouth. As he landed, Viper, Tigress and Crane launched their own dumplings. Po caught them all before they touched the ground. Manta kept score at the sidelines.

"Come on Po, one more and you break the record!" He cheered. Po grinned and took a fighting stance. Tigress let loose another dumpling and Po prepared to leap. The steady gong of a warning bell from the village below broke his concentration and he tripped, landing on his face. As though mocking him, the wayward dumpling plopped onto his head.

"Sounds like playtime's over." Tigress commented calmly, stretching gracefully.

"Then we better get going." Po said confidently. "Time for some butt-kicking."

The kung fu legends raced out the gate and down the steps, Po quickly being outstripped by the far more athletic Furious Five. They knew he could keep up though and didn't slow down. When they got down to the village they found most of the occupants in a confused panic.

"What happened here?" Crane asked. Mr. Ping, Po's goose father, waddled up, looking nervous.

"It's Tai Lung!" He cried.

"What?" Viper asked. "How?"

"Dad, Tai Lung's dead." Po reminded his father between gasps.

"Well it looked like him." Mr. Ping replied, shuffling from foot to foot. "Floating through the sky..." He shuddered, looking scared.

"Floating?" Tigress asked. "Did you see where he went?"

Several villagers pointed fingers at one of the patches of forest dotting the surrounding mountains. Po groaned as he looked up. "Come on Dragon Warrior," Monkey said, poking Po in the side. "Time to kick some butt, as you would say."

Po sighed as the Furious Five raced off. So much for a lazy day, he thought to himself. "See you Dad, I'll be back for dinner!" He said cheerfully, and then began to jog after his friend, panting in exertion almost immediately.

As soon as they were within the trees that the villagers had seen Tai Lung, or something that had looked to them like Tai Lung, disappear into, they were silent. Po actually had to stop short of entering for a couple minutes to stop gasping. The woods were eerily quiet, no sounds of bird calls or any other animals. It was clear something had them spooked.

As they silently padded along they did begin to hear noise. Odd rustlings made them crouch low, wary of an attack. As they ventured towards the sound, soft muttering could be heard as well. The words soon became clear.

"... gotta fix that strap, it's a damned good thing I had my chute on or this coulda been very messy. Good going Xingchen, you really got yourself into a fine kettle of fish this time."

The six kung fu warriors peered around trees and bushes and beheld a strange sight. A young-looking female snow leopard hung suspended from a tree, tangled in various ropes. A large canvas was draped across the tree's branches, the ropes coming down from it.

The snow leopard struggled uselessly, practically upside down and unable to move her hands or feet or even her tail much in any direction. She gave up and hung limply from the ropes, still chunnering to herself. "Fine thing, fine thing. Decide to do some tricks and wind up falling and getting yourself caught in a tree. Well done, Xingchen, well done." She stared up. "You're not much help either." She seemed to be addressing someone other than herself.

Po looked at the others. Monkey shrugged, Tigress shook her head. In that moment the leopardess decided to start bemoaning her fate. "Oh cruel world to have the end come like this. Dying of starvation, and thirst. Oh for one last taste of pan-fried dumpling, steamed veggies, banana fritters drizzled in honey..."

As the captive leopardess went on, Po found himself salivating. Finally he couldn't contain himself as his stomach let out a loud, protesting gurgle. "And noodle soup made just right." He called.

"Po!" Tigress hissed. Po looked at her, grinning sheepishly. The leopardess had stopped talking and was looking towards their hiding place.

"Who's that? And do you have food?" She asked. Tigress sighed.

"She knows we're here, might as well." Crane reasoned with a shrug of his wings. The six of them emerged from their hiding places.

"Hullo." The leopardess said cheerfully. "Do you think you could help me out here?"

"What are you doing here?" Tigress asked instead.

"I was just passing over." The leopardess replied. "Look, the blood's rushing to my head, I don't think that I'm going to be very coherent for very long. And no snarky snorts from you about that, mister!" She yelled, seemingly talking to someone invisible.

"She's mad, maybe?" Mantis suggested from his perch on Po's shoulder.

"Alright, we'll just cut the ropes-"

"No!" The leopardess yelped, horrified. "Do you know how long it took to make this thing? No, just, untangle my hands, I think I can take it from there." Po moved forward and carefully undid the ropes around the snow leopard's hands, wary of the claws that could pop out at any moment. She didn't seem dangerous, but then again, neither did Po if you just saw him walking around. "Many thanks." The leopardess smiled and then began to swing herself around.

She managed to latch onto the tree trunk that she was attached to and scrambled up. Once on high she set about untangling the silky canvas and ropes from the tree, packing it all into a pack on her back. "Fat lot of good you are." She said as she did so. "Guess you couldn't have done much though, the villagers woulda wet themselves seeing you."

"I think she's crazy." Monkey whispered. The snow leopardess dropped from the tree to land in front of them. She gave them a dramatic bow.

"My name is Xingchen, wanderer and storyteller extraordinaire." She greeted them. "Who may I ask am I thanking for my rescue?"

"I'm Po, and these are the Furious Five, Tigress, Monkey, Viper, Mantis and Crane." Po introduced.

"A pleasure." Xingchen definitely did not look like Tai Lung up close. Her eyes were wide and blue and her face was cuter, without the unfortunate underbite that Tai Lung suffered from. There was a chip in her right lower canine, giving her smile a slightly lopsided appearance. She was plump, not overly fat, but it was obvious that she enjoyed her food and her fur poofed out all over her body, adding to the roundedness of her form.

She wore a plain brown jerkin and brown wool pants. A belt around her waist held various small pouches and an odd metal ring at the front. She raised an eyebrow. "You mentioned something about noodles."

"Oh, yeah! My dad runs a noodle shop, best in all of China." Po bragged. "Who were you talking to?" Xingchen blinked and Po wondered if she really was crazy.

"Oh. Oh! Yes, well..." Xingchen rubbed the back of her head. "I do travel with someone, just... promise you won't freak out?"

"I think we can handle it." Viper said confidently.

"Alright..." Xingchen said doubtfully. "Anvil, get your scaly behind down here!" She yelled. There was a rustle in the treetops and then a big... something dropped to the ground. The Furious Five all jumped back in surprise, Po just stood there, staring.

It was a big, black, scaly creature with a large, almost crescent-shaped head. It walked on four sturdy looking legs with vicious claws tipping the large paws. The long, heavy tail had a fin at the end of it and twitched as though it had a life of its own. Purple zigzags ran down its neck in two nearly parallel lines across its back and down the tail. The most impressive thing though were the massive bat-like wings that sprouted from its shoulders.

"What is that?" Crane finally choked out.

"This is Anvil. He's a Night Fury, which is a kind of dragon." Xingchen explained, scratching the massive creature under the chin. "He's my partner and my transport." It was then they noticed the saddle and various bags, pans and trinkets on Anvil's back.

"You... ride him?" Po asked. Xingchen nodded. "That is totally awesome!" Po declared, throwing his hands up in the air. "Where'd you get him?" Xingchen patted her stomach and grinned.

"I spin better tales with a full stomach." She told them. "That noodle shop you mentioned sounds good. Do you think it will have enough to satisfy a Night Fury appetite?"

"We can try." Po said gamely.

"Good enough for us, right bud?" She thumped Anvil on the side affectionately.

"Can we walk down this time?" Po pleaded.

It took them awhile, but they finally got down to the village. They were met by many anxious-faced villagers, that shied away at the sight of Xingchen and Anvil. Anvil just sniffed around everything until Xingchen tugged him away while scribbling on a scroll, tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth.

It took a little longer to get to the shop, seeing as they had to stop to reassure the villagers and make sure Anvil wasn't going to traumatize some hapless vendor by being a little too curious. Po was nearly knocked over by his dad as they walked into the open courtyard of the shop.

"You took so long, I was starting to get a little worried." Mr. Ping confessed.

"No, it's okay dad. Hey, I brought some friends home for dinner." Po jerked his head back. Mr. Ping looked and his eyes bulged just as Xingchen walked into Po's back.

"Whoopsies, sorry about that." Xingchen said, stuffing the scroll into a pack hanging off Anvil's saddle. "Hiya!" She chirruped cheerfully at Mr. Ping. "This your place? Smells good in here."

"Uh, well, yes." Mr. Ping stuttered. "Po?"

"This is Xingchen and Anvil." Po explained. "They're just passing through and are looking for a meal."

"Well, if it's a meal they want, it's a meal they'll get." Mr. Ping said, reassured. "I think I'll have to make a Po-sized portion for Anvil though. What is he?"

"A dragon." Xingchen said cheerfully. "I'll try to keep him out of your kitchen, he tends to get into everything." As if proving her point Anvil went trotting around the courtyard, poking his nose into everything.

"I'm going to get Master Shifu." Crane said. "I think he'll want to at least know that everything's alright."

"A good idea." Tigress said with approval. Xingchen plunked herself down at a table with a satisfied smile and yawned, stretching lightly. The noodles weren't long in the making and everyone looked on in stunned awe as Xingchen proceeded to demolish her bowl of noodles with gusto. Anvil had his whole head stuck in a pot of noodles.

"Wow, I haven't seen anyone eat like that since Po." Mantis quipped.

"Hey!" Po yelped indignantly. The Furious Five looked at him. "Alright, I eat a lot."

Crane returned with Master Shifu as Xingchen pushed her bowl away with a satisfied sigh. "Gotta say M. Ping, that had to be one of the best meals we've ever had." She complimented. "You don't have anything that could be considered travel food, do you? Me and Anvil like to keep moving."

"Apparently." Monkey gestured to where Anvil had wandered off and was harassing other patrons for more food. Xingchen sighed and got up, tromping over to her dragon. She grabbed his tail and yanked.

"You shameless cretin." She berated the dragon as she yanked his tail again. Anvil moved backwards with her as she all but dragged him back. "Can't take you anywhere, you've got no manners." She let go of his tail and sat down. "Sit!" She ordered. Anvil gave her a mulish look. "I said sit, you contrary beast!"

Anvil grumped but sat on the ground. "Now, your story?" Viper asked eagerly.

"Yes, yes." Xingchen sighed and leaned back. "Now, where do I begin..."

_Well, let's start at the beginning I suppose. I got bit by the wanderlust bug early in my life and began travelling. Made it through all of China and then thought, why stop there? Been all through the known world and even some of the unknown. Met some interesting people and the food has always been good. There's this one tribe down near the sea... getting off topic, sorry. _

_Anyways, my travels led me west, all the way to the edge of the great ocean there. I had been hearing tales of a tribe that lived on an island and had some pretty interesting pets, so I decided to have a look. Needless to say I discovered I did not have any form of sea legs. If I never have to set foot on a boat again, I will be a happy feline._

_Anyway I got to the island, and the town called Berk and all but kissed the ground when I landed. Quit laughing at me Anvil! Anyways, I was greeted by the local residents, a tribe of Viking wolves. What? What's the matter with... oh, I see. Well Viking wolves must be a different breed then because these were some nice, though big and terribly fond of bashing things over the head, wolves. _

_So, these Vikings were led by one known as Hiccup. Yes, Hiccup, trust me it's not the worst name he could have had. Back to the tale, Berk did indeed have some unusual pets, dragons! They flew all over the place and were quite friendly. Of course being the curious cat that I am I asked where they'd all come from._

_Hiccup told me they used to be pests, stealing the Vikings' food, setting fire to their homes and being a nuisance in general. You're still a nuisance, Anvil, sit! So the Vikings did their best to rid their village of the nuisance. When Hiccup was a young man he brought down a Night Fury, like Anvil here. He spared the life of the creature and the two of them became companions Hiccup eventually naming the dragon Toothless._

_He and his eventual wife Astrid discovered the reason the dragons were stealing their food was because of a monstrous dragon called the Red Death that would have eaten all the little dragons if they didn't bring it food. Long story short, Hiccup and Toothless brought down the Red Death and became heroes of the village. _

_I stuck around for a little while, partly because the winter weather made the seas far too treacherous. I wasn't in any hurry to get back in that boat anyways. During that time Anvil took a liking to me. He was just a little tyke then, cute as a button. You're not cute now, you're just a beast! He's actually one of Toothless' grandkids, though he seems to have missed the nobility gene. Don't you snort at me mister!_

_I spent the next few years bonding with Anvil and learning how to fly with him when he got big enough. It's thanks to Hiccup that we have parachutes, he's an inventor you see. I finally got restless enough to leave and me and Anvil flew off. And that's pretty much where we are now._

"Wow, that is totally awesome!" Po declared when Xingchen finished. "Hey, do you think Anvil could carry me?"

Anvil let out a growling yelp and attempted to hide behind Xingchen. "You are a rude beast." She informed the dragon lightly. "He might, but you'd probably be better off on a Monstrous Nightmare." She grinned at their faces. "Oh it's not as bad as it sounds, the Vikings love their dramatic and scary names they do."

"So you're not related to Tai Lung at all?" Shifu interrupted, looking suspicious.

"Not that I'm aware, and even if I was, too lazy to learn kung fu." She patted her belly. "Don't have the mind for it anyways. Too scatterbrained."

"We noticed." Tigress deadpanned.

"Eh, part of it's being on my own with just a dragon to talk to for so long." Xingchen shrugged. "Don't think I'm crazy though." Anvil snorted and she glared up at him. "I didn't ask for your opinion you overgrown reptile."

Shifu gave Po a look. "What? What'd I do?" Po asked.

"Nevermind." Shifu said. "Are you staying here?" He asked Xingchen, who was play-wrestling with Anvil, who had her whole arm in his mouth.

"What? Oh no, I never stay in one place too long, and we don't like villages much anyways, no offense." She said. "Me and Anvil prefer the roads less travelled, plus he makes people nervous for some odd reason."

"Can't imagine why." Mantis said sarcastically.

"I know!" Xingchen cried, clearly missing the irony in his tone. "He's such a sweetie-pie." She cooed, hugging Anvil around the neck affectionately. Anvil grumped, but didn't try to pull away. "We should probably be off though." She sighed regretfully.

"Hold on, before you go." Mr. Ping waddled out with several packages. "A gift for someone with such love for food. They're dried packages of noodles, all you have to do is drop them in boiling water and you have a good meal in minutes.

Xingchen squeaked happily and grabbed the smaller goose in a hug. "Mr. Ping I'm so happy I could kiss you." She declared as she lifted him off his feet. "Thank you very much."

"It's no problem, can you let me down though?" He replied. Xingchen grinned and complied, accepting the packages gratefully and stashing them in a pack on Anvil's saddle. She then hauled herself up and clipped herself to Anvil's saddle by the metal ring on the front of her belt.

"Well, suppose this is goodbye for now." She said.

"Hold on, how'd you get tangled up in that tree in the first place?" Po asked. Xingchen grinned sheepishly.

"Oh, that. We were doing some aerial tricks and we decided to do a loop, but I'd forgotten to properly clip myself in, so I fell off." She laughed. "Thank goodness for my parachute. Ta-ta!" She yelled and then Anvil leapt into the air with a mighty flap of his wings. Xingchen waved as the two of them disappeared beyond the mountains.

"Well, I thought I'd seen everything the day a panda became the Dragon Warrior, but apparently I was wrong." Shifu commented. "Po, please refrain from bringing home anymore 'strays', they scare the locals."


End file.
